Roar of the Lion Remastered
by massacoppsan
Summary: With grammer and content editing and with your reviews and some time a complete story.  A mission gone awry. A Commander facing a decision that will change him forever. An ally of a new variety. And the poor poor world that decides to stand against him.
1. Chapter 1

This is a repost and re-write of a story I started years ago. I had all but forgotten about it until I played FF8 again. Then imagine my surprise when I logged onto and found that there are still stories being posted. Happy day.

The sky rumbled loudly and lightning split the sky. The flashes of light briefly illuminated three rain soaked SEEDs.

Squall looked up into the sky watching as another bolt of lightning lit the horizon. His rain soaked hair hung limply over his face, obscuring his right eye. He didn't care though. He glanced over at his companions.

Zell Dincht was leaning against a large boulder the rain had caused his normally spiky hair to lay flat against his head and there were rivulets of red being washed out of his hair by the storm.

Irvine Kienas lay on the muddy ground his expression a mask of pure misery. In one arm a faded trenchcoat was wrapped around his beloved Exeter. In his other he held his cherished hat. That selfsame item had been shredded by bullets and scorched by magic, yet he still clung to it as if it was the greatest thing in his world.

Squall turned his gaze back to the sky. He let his thoughts wander to Rinoa. "I wonder what she's doing now" He mused. "If she's thinking of me while im thinking of her"

His face fell a bit more as he thought about their final parting before he left.

"Squall can't you send someone else?" She had asked.

"You know I can't Rinoa, this mission is too dangerous for me to even bring you along."

She sighed and hugged him tightly and softly kissing his lips.  
"Please be careful for me." She whispered.

Before He could even reply she had turned and walked off.

"Squall. SQUALL!" Zell shook Squall's arm and sighed in relief as his commander's eyes focused and he came black to this world.

"Geez man you ok? Come on, they're coming again."

Squall silently got back to his feet and close his hand around Lionheart's hilt. The weapon's weight reassured him. It was the one object he allowed himself to draw comfort from.

Irvine climbed to his feet, placed his tattered hat on his head and unwrapped Exeter. He broke open the weapon and loaded a pair of pulse shells into the gun then snapped it closed.  
Squall turned his eyes to the east. "How far?" He asked.

Irvine clambered up a boulder and peered through a spotting scope. "About five hundred yards approaching at a fast walk."

"Shit" Squall cursed quietly. "How had the Galbadians caught up that quickly? Be ready to move in three minutes." He then turned to his own gear and began thrusting items in his pack.

Three minutes later the elite SEED's set off to the west. As they ran Squalls mind went back to Cid's office five days ago. When the headmaster had first informed them of this mission.

"Squall, the Esthar government has contracted us to find and infiltrate a Galbadian base that they believe is hidden in the Centra mountains. They have paid top gil in advance and have called for our three top SEED's to move out immediately." Cid handed him a sealed envelope.

Squall took it and looked into the Headmaster's eyes, he almost looked scared. "Squall this is a very dangerous mission. It is believed that this is a weapons research facility. Expect heavy resistance." Cid forced a small smile. Not that I have any doubt in your abilities but… Cid trailed off. "Just be careful Squall."

Squall snapped a sharp salute and walked out of the office.  
His thoughts were interrupted again as a fireball exploded in front of them. The team drew up short as a team of Galbadian soldiers stepped out of the boulder-strewn field ahead of them.

"AGAIN?" Zell cried in dismay. He slammed his fist against the ground. "Hyne why won't they give up? They just keep coming."  
Squall breathed deeply. He hated to admit it but Zell was right. Every time they thought they had given the Galbadians the slip they were found again. He gritted his teeth at an unfamiliar fury as Zell continued to rant.

"I'm sick of this." Zell growled. His face was filled with frustration and anger. I'm sick of running. I'm sick of being shot at. AND IM SICK OF THESE DAMN GALBADIANS BEING ON OUR BACKS AT EVERY TURN."

Squall drew Lionheart and glared defiantly at the leading Galbadian, Zell looked concerned at Squall's expression. Ever since they had begun running he had been his usual silent self. With Rinoa's help he had begun actually showing his emotions. Now...now there was something about his behavior. Something dark. It scared him.

Irvine too was sick of everything about this mission. He was sick of being kept away from Selphie. He kept his eyes on Squall. He was worried about that look in his eye. He took a deep breath and prepared himself for the battle.  
Squall slowly walked towards the Galbadian formation. The five men grinned at the sight of their battle weary prey and spread out around him. Each of them held a long thin katana in his hands that was the standard issue melee weapon of the Galbadian army. These were no average soldiers however. All of the SEED's could see that. The men had the poise and radiated the confidence of men who had seen vicious battles and come out on top. They were a hardened squad and they were here to pick up the slack.

Squall tightened his fingers on Lionhearts hilt, resting his finger on the trigger. Zell loudly popped his knuckles. Irvine pumped his shotgun and flicked the safety off as he brought it to his shoulder.

The five men lunged forward their blades all aimed to skewer Squall where he stood. Only he wasn't there anymore. Squall danced back a step as Lionheart came crashing down on one of the outstretching blades, slamming it into the ground. Then he was moving. He roughly shouldered the smallest Galbadian and moved passed him. He turned and brought his elbow up in a quick arc into the man's nose as he turned to follow. Then he brought Lionheart around in a vicious arc that sunk into the man's shoulder and neck. The man fell to the ground in a spray of blood as Squall wrenched his blade free and thrust it at the chest of the soldier to his right. The man brought his sword up in a wild parry but managed to deflect the thrust and raised his blade to attack again.

The soldier then screamed briefly as a pulse round from Irvine's shotgun lodged itself in his back and exploded, covering squall and the two men closest to him in blood and viscera.

Zell was throwing precise calculated punches at the soldier closest to him. Using his adamantine gloves to deflect the thrusts slashes and stabs that Galbadian threw at him. He ducked as the soldier tried to take his head off and followed up with a sharp punch to the throat. The soldier staggered back, his hand clutching his windpipe as he tried to suck in a breath of air.

Irvine was sighting in on the leader of the squad when the man threw up his hands. Irvine had time to blink before a fire spell slammed into his chest knocking him flying through the air. He landed with a thud on the rocky ground and lay still.

Zell ducked another slash aimed at his neck and grabbed the soldier's outstretched arm. He gave a sharp twist. The man gave a shrill scream as his arm fractured and a shard of bone was pushed through his skin, he staggered away his arm dripping only to pass out a moment later. Zell turned his attention to the last soldier as the Commander of the squad turned to Squall and held up his sword in a mocking salute. Then lunged.

Squall was caught by surprise by the Commander's speed and wildly parried the Commander's opening strike and fought for his stance. The Galbadian paused and regained his own stance. Squall felt something bubble inside him. A fierce rush of energy being fueled by his anger. He had thought it had deserted him. The Commander struck once more. Squall sidestepped the vertical slash and swung his sword low, aiming for the knees. The commander pivoted and dropped the point of his sword to the ground blocking Squalls slice. Both men took a step back and regained their footing. This time Squall entered the attack feinting at the man's shoulder and then pulling his sword back spinning around delivering a power slash at his opponent's side. Yet again the large Galbadian's sword interposed itself between Squall's sword and his flesh. The Galbadian slashed for Squall's neck but even as squall ducked and the blade whistled over his head he thrust at the man's gut. Lionheart bit home and blood spurted from the Galbadian commander's armor. Yet the soldier would not fall. He stepped back and held his hand against the wound and muttered, "cure".

Squall saw a blue glow and the flesh mended. Then took a quick step back as the Galbadian's sword sought to sunder his sword arm from its shoulder. Squall let out a guttural growl and narrowed his eye. Then brought lionheart around in a lightning quick strike. Slamming the glowing blade down on top of the Galbadian's sword. Driving the point into the earth. Squall took a step back and felt his rage building. The Galbadian looked up from trying to free his sword from the rocky ground. For the first time he saw his opponents face and froze. One of his eyes was covered by his hair. But the left eye. There was something in that eye. A hate that he had never seen before, he felt all the joy happiness anger and sorrow almost being sucked from his body. The only thing he was able to feel was terror.  
Then Squall struck.

"LIONHEART" Squall bellowed. Bringing the flat of his sword up and knocking the Galbadian up into the air. Squall leapt into the air after him and began hacking and slashing the defenseless man with stroke after stroke. Finally bringing his sword down in a clean diagonal slice and cutting the man into two pieces. Squall landed on one knee and planted Lionheart into the ground, as he took a deep breath he watched his opponent's pieces land around him.  
Zell and his opponent had both stopped fighting. Watching their respective commanders battle it out. After seeing how quickly his Commander was defeated the Galbadian turned and ran as fast as he could. Zell relaxed and looked over at Squall. With a start he realized that Squall had his hand outstretched and was concentrating on something.

"METEOR!" Squall yelled.

Zell watched in fascination and horror as flaming rocks rained from the skies impacting all around the panicked man until finally a rock landed directly on top of him. Flattening him with a squelch.

Squall finally lowered his hand. His eyes passed over the death that he and his team had caused in the past few minutes and sighed. His eyes focused on Zell. Who now looked at him like he was some sort of daemon. "What the hell was that about man?" He wasn't a threat anymore. Whydja waste him man?"

Squall remained silent as he walked over to Irvine. "Cure." He muttered. Irvine stirred and finally woke up. Rising to his feet. "What happened?"

Squall remained silent his face becoming stony again. Zell mentally sighed in relief and told Irvine in a hushed voice everything that happened as the trio set off west again. The sounds of Galbadian pursuit falling behind them.

Rate, review etc. The more you review the quicker I will write more if you all like it.  
Mike


	2. The mission

"What is up with the rain in this stupid place?" Zell grumbled to himself. "It stops it starts it stops it starts. Hyne I hate this place."

As if on cue the rain once again stopped and the group was able to see more than thirty yards in front of them.

"We'll stop here." Squall spoke up. "It's close enough to our extraction point." He looked up at Zell." Set up the transponder and tell Balamb to pick us up."

Squall nearly collapsed against a boulder. His face a mask harder than the rock he leaned on, though anyone could see that he was in more pain than he would ever let on.

"Sure. No prob." Zell replied. He was glad Squall had decided to stop. He was getting tired and by the look of it Irvine wasn't faring much better. He shook his head. Squall would talk when he was ready but for now there was work to do.

He dug into his pack and pulled out what looked very much like a small radio. In fact it was a radio. Zell pushed a button on the top and a small red light started to blink on the antenna. He fiddled with the dial for a moment then held the radio to his mouth and spoke in a low but clear voice.

"Balamb control this is SEED three do you copy?"

A moment later a familiar voice replied. "This is Balamb control we copy. Is that you Zell?"

Zell smirked. "Hey Nida. What's happening?"

"The usual Zell." Nida replied. "The Garden is parked by Fisherman's Horizon right now and taking on supplies. What's your status?"

"Our mission is a success." Zell reported. "We are standing by for our extraction."

"Affirmative Zell. Ragnarok is fueled and ready to go. ETA…Thirty minutes."

"Roger Balamb. SEED three out." Zell clicked off the radio and placed it on a nearby rock. "Squall. Retrieval in thirty."

Squall nodded then leaned his forehead on Lionheart's hilt, obscuring his face. His thoughts were on the mission and the things that had happened.

Zell sat down next to Irvine. The cowboy was in considerably better spirits than their leader.

"What's up Zell?" He asked as the fighter dropped to the ground beside him.

"I'm worried about squall." He replied. "He won't let us near those injuries of his and I dont know how much longer he can keep it together."

Irvine nodded sagely. "Who knows what he went through before he let us out. Me? I'm not gonna complain. Whatever is affecting him it saved our asses. My guess is right now he is just trying to forget about it."

Zell fell silent. Irvine had a point but he just knew it was something else this time. He looked over at Squall. Squall was sitting on his rock running a whetstone over Lionheart. He certainly looked detached.

Irvine sat back. There was nothing to do now but wait. He pulled what was left of his hat over his eyes and closed his eyes.

Squall sat and ran through the day's events in his mind as he took solace in tending his beloved blade. The mission had been much much more than he had ever thought. The price was very clear. His thoughts drifted back to trip to Centra.

"So Squall. What's the mission? Irvine asked.

The three of them were in the cramped briefing room of Ragnarok while the ship sped through the upper atmosphere.

Squall pulled out the envelope Cid had given him and ripped the seal. He pulled out a data disc and plugged it into the ship's computer.

"Good Morning SEED's." Cid's voice came from the speakers. "Here are the details of your mission today. Two weeks ago an orbiting spacecraft from Esthar saw what looked like explosion somewhere in the mountains of Centra. The Esthar military sent a scouting party that reported a heavily guarded Facility that appeared to be doing weapons testing. Due to the sensitive political nature of the assignment President Loire decided to hire SEED to investigate and if need be destroy this facility.

"Figures." Squall interrupted. "Always letting someone else do the work."

"The Esthar scouts reported numerous patrol groups as well as fixed detection installations." Cid continued as a map was imposed on the screen.

The facility appears to be built directly into this cliff face.

A portion of the map highlighted. "This is the path that we determined was most likely to avoid the detection installations and the majority of the patrols." Cids voice continued. However there is still a real probability that a larger group would be picked up. This was what made us decide to send you three. You are most capable for the job. Your objectives are as follows."

1. Slip past or neutralize the perimeter defenses

2. Discover the nature of the research at the facility.

3. If the research is of a military nature destroy all research and backup files.

That is all. Good luck gentlemen" The screen went blank.

"That is our mission." Squall said. Any questions?"

"What do we need to sneak in for?" Zell asked. "Lets just plow through those defenses."

Squall smirked at Zell's attitude. "One reason we are not going to do that is because there will be several of these were detected on patrol." On the screen a picture of what looked like a very large Robot spider came into focus. Zell's face immediately sobered.

"That's right." Squall continued. "Galbadia appears to have re-instituted the X-ATM092 project. We are to expect anywhere from four to fifteen of these machines to be in the area. I know we have all faced them at some point and can be beaten. However this is supposed to be a stealth operation So lets keep this op quiet. The Lab is located here."

The screen lit up with a close up image of an entrance into the cliff face. "The Galbadians have hewn their facility straight into the mountain." Squall continued. "We believe however that there is an entrance for lab personnel near the weapons testing area which we assume to be here." The screen focused again. The Esthar scouts said that the area here seemed to have been blasted recently. Assuming they are correct this will be our primary means of entry. Patrols should be much easier to avoid due to the size of the area. Most of the soldiers and machines will be located at the front entrance. More questions?"

His query was met with silence.

"Good." Squall said. "Lets go get our equipment ready."

The three SEEDs filed out of the room into the cargo bay of the ship where the Garden had installed several racks of equipment storage.

Squall took a light pack from the rack and walked along the rack, adding several potions, a phoenix down and a three small shaped charges to his bag. He slung the pack on his back and walked to the weapons rack and lovingly took down Lionheart, taking a moment to carefully inspect the blade and the gun mechanism before strapping the weapon across his back and sat on the bench seat near the door. He watched with detached interest and Irvine and Zell filled their own packs.

Zell was bouncing from foot to foot in excitement as he crammed explosives and potions into his pack then jumped as Irvine laid a hand on his shoulder.

"Do you even know what you're doing with all of those?" He asked in a worried voice.

Zell grinned and flashed a thumbs up. "Of course man. Stick the charge to what you want to go boom and set the timer. No sweat."

Irvine grimaced and took a step back. Both men looked up when Squall cleared his throat and looked pointedly at Zell's pack then at the bin of charges.

"Fine fine you guys never let me have any fun" Zell moaned in a tragic voice as he began placing most of the charges he took back in the bin.

Squall fought to keep the smirk from reaching his lips but failed. Sometimes Zell's antics just couldnt be ignored.

Irvine filled his own pack and walked over to the front of the compartment, taking three tranceiever earbuds from a marked cabinet and putting one in his own ear and handing the others to Squall and Zell.

Squall inserted his earbud and pressed his finger against it to activate then spoke in a low voice

"Seed One, test"

"Seed Two, test" Irvine's voices sounded in his ear followed by.

"Seed Three, test"

Squall nodded in satisfaction and walked to a wall intercom and pressed the button.

"Cockpit. Seed One, Mission is go."

"Roger that Seed One mission is go."

Immediately the floor of the ship pitched down and the pitch of the engines changed as the pilot dove the Dragon ship toward the insertion point outside the Galbadian radar envelope.

Squall supressed a smile as his adrenaline started to pump. This was the moment he lived for. A well oiled mission that was going to go off without a hitch.

He touched his finger to his ear. "Standard drill boys. We hit the ground then find cover fast. If we encounter resistance we take it out fast or the mission is off. Understood?"

Irvine and Zell nodded together and a red light above the rear hatch began to flash. All three men lined up against the wall by the Hatch and reached for a grab bar as the ship decelerated.

"We hit the beach in thirty seconds" The pilot said. "As soon as you are off our orders are to pull back and return to Garden at all possible speed. Good luck gentlemen."

The noise of the ships engines quieted as the ship slowed even more.

"Ten seconds"

The rear hatch opened and the ramp extended.

"Five, four, three, two, GO GO GO!" The pilot chanted as the ship came to a hover two feet above the ground.

The SEEDs did not need telling twice. They sprinted out of the ship and onto the rocky ground. Irvine ducked behind a boulder. Squall veered to the left and took cover behind a dune of gravel. Zell moved to the right and skidded behind another boulder. All three stayed perfectly still as Ragnaroks engines howled and the ship sprang forward along the ground before the pilot stood her on her tail and opened the engines wide allowed the ship to leap into the air.

Squall was the first to lift his head and check the area. No shouts of alarm came. Nothing skewered his head. So he took a better look around. The area was strewn with rocks of all sizes from pebbles that he was hiding behind to medium size boulders and a few that were taller than a man. It was desolate and cloudy with not a single plant in sight. A couple miles away the mountain range began. Squall got up and walked over to the boulder that Irvine was hiding behind.

Irvine looked up and suddenly felt very silly crouching behind the boulder when Squall was standing in plain view. "So are we all clear then?" He asked. Squall just nodded and walked towards Zell's boulder.

The blonde fighter seemed to be lost in his own world as he struggled to peak around his boulder without presenting himself to whatever it was that he was hiding from. Squall tapped him on the shoulder.

"YEARGHHH!" Zell screamed and tried to jump to his feet and turn around at the same time. As a result he tripped over his own feet and fell flat on his back. "Geez Squall you scared the crap outta me. Whaja do that for anyway?" Squall just hung his head and walked away. He liked Zell he really did. But sometimes the man could be clumsier than Laguna.

Irvine stood next to Squall chuckling at Zell's antics. "Were clear Zell lets get moving? And for Hyne sake keep your voice down.

Zell rubbed the back of his head in embarrassment. "Right. Sorry about that."

Three hours later they had worked their way into the mountains. Squall noticed an area that looked a bit blackened and charred. That must be the testing ground. He thought. He pointed it out to Irvine and Zell who both agreed with him. They descended the mountain and crossed onto the testing ground.

Irvine kept his head on a swivel as they crossed the testing ground. What the hell was that? He asked himself. He could have sworn he just saw something move. There it was again. He tapped Squall on the shoulder and pointed to the area.

Squall followed Irvine's outstretched finger to what looked like a boulder. Sure enough after about a minute it seemed to move. "What do you think it is?" He asked Irvine.

"I dunno. It is probably still about a mile away. We should get closer." Irvine replied.

"Agreed, but with weapons out." Squall removed his scabbard from his shoulder and drew Lionheart, then re-slung the scabbard and cinched it down so it would not get in his way. Irvine un-slung Exeter and chambered a pulse round. Zell popped his knuckles.

The group spread out. Irvine took the center, Squall was on the left and Zell on the right. As they got closer they saw that the boulder that was moving had clamshell doors. A technician was bringing equipment up through the doors. How they opened or what controlled them was not apparent.

There were also two Galbadian soldiers standing guard. Though their backs were to the SEEDs. Squall knelt behind a boulder and the others joined him.

"Lets keep this simple." Squall whispered. "Irvine and I will take the guards. Zell you get the tech, make sure that he is conscious. I want to question him. Don't let him sound an alarm though. We make our move as soon as the tech goes back down.

"No prob Squall." Zell whispered excitedly. "I'll have that tech so fast he wont know what hit him.

"Whatever."

The group slowly crept closer. As they got closer they saw that the Galbadians were not paying the slightest attention to the world around. In fact the Tech seemed to be the most alert of the group. Both soldiers were armed with the standard issue Galbadian sword.

The tech disappeared down the hatch again and the SEEDs moved.

Squall and Irvine ran as silently as they could toward the guards. As they approached one guard turned his head and saw Squall.

"What the…?" Was all he got out as Squall brought Lionheart diagonally across the soldiers neck.

It was enough. The other soldier was more alert than squall gave him credit for. He backpedaled rapidly and drew his sword. Then he turned and Rushed Irvine.

Damn he's fast. Irvine thought. He ducked under a wicked slash aimed for his neck and jammed the barrel of Exeter against the soldier's stomach. Not fast enough. He added with a grim smile. Irvine pulled the trigger.

After the hours of relative silence the roar of the shotgun sounded more like a bomb had been detonated. The pulse round hit the soldier's spine before it exploded and the explosion liquefied the man's entire torso. The head flew straight into the air while the arms dropped to the ground. The waist and legs stood for a moment before toppling.

Just as Irvine fired the Tech came out. Took one look around. And ran as fast as he could the way he came.

"GET HIM ZELL!" Squall shouted.

Zell sped off down the stairs after the tech. As he rounded a corner at the bottom of the stairs a blur sped toward his face.

The tech dropped the length of pipe he had used to bludgeon Zell and ran as fast as he could down the corridor.

"Shit, damn f&k. Zell swore violently and clutched his nose. You're gonna die you skinny freak!" Zell sped off after the Tech. As he ran he held his hands to his torso.

"HASTE."

The spell's energy flowed through him and he tripled his speed. Quickly gaining on the tech. The man had stopped and was trying to work something on the wall. "Shit. Alarms." Zell said to himself just as he tackled the man directly into the wall.

There was a loud crack and an even louder scream. The tech was clutching his arm, which was quite broken.

Zell was still sore about the pipe to the face and grabbed the tech by the collar of his lab coat and began dragging him back down the corridor to the clamshell. When he stood on the stairs the doors opened and Squall and Irvine ducked inside.

"Are you ok Zell?" Irvine asked.

"Yeah. Little creep was waiting at the bottom of the steps with a pipe." He dropped the tech and held his hand to his face. "Cure." He muttered. He sighed as the pain faded and the cuts healed.

Squall knelt by the whimpering man. "We are going to make this brief and depending on your cooperation you can either be a casualty or an informant." He held Lionheart to the Man's throat. "So what's it gonna be?"

The Tech stiffened. "You're too late." He scoffed. "I already hit the alarm. The security detail will be here any second. If you let me go they might just take you prisone…" The tech trailed off as Squall lightly pressed Lionheart against his jugular. Easy, easy man. Ok I'll talk."

"That wasn't so hard was it?" Squall asked. "Now then. Did you trigger an alarm?

The Tech tried to move away from the blade. "No…No man I was just tryin to get you to let me go."

"Where is the nearest lab?"

"End of the corridor. Where Blondie tackled me."

"Get up." Squall Commanded.

The man got to his feet and the group walked down the hall and into the lab. The tech keyed the door open and stepped in behind Squall.

"What is this purpose of this facility?" Squall asked.

"I..I can't tell you." The tech answered. "If I tell you they'll kill me."

"If you don't tell me then you are already dead." Squall Responded.

"We..we're supposed to clone and genetically alte…" The man was cut off as the back of his head exploded.

A squad of Galbadians stepped into the lab. Suddenly it was a lot more crowded.

The leader spoke up. "We're here to research ways to kill SEED's. Though I don't know why we waste our time. It seems that we are already pretty good at it."

He leveled his gun and the two other soldiers raised their swords.

Squall held up Lionheart and Irvine chambered another round.

Zell popped his knuckles and held up his fists. "Lets dance boys."

So what do you think so far?


	3. Information Gained

This chapter is dedicated to kamarul.e for being the first person to review my work in 5 years and getting me back into the story. More chapters to come soon.

Squall threw himself behind a desk as the Galbadian squad leader leveled his assault rifle at him and pulled the trigger. Squall howled in pain as one of the bullets caught him in the shin. Gritting his teeth he held his hand to his bleeding leg.

"Cura." He muttered.

He winced as the bulled was forced out of his leg by the knitting bones and flesh. He took several deep breaths, schooled his face into an emotionless mask and rolled from behind the desk into a fighting position.

Zell squared off against one of the soldiers. He bent over double the soldier sliced at his stomach. On the back swing Zell caught the blade and brought his hand down hard on the soldiers wrist. The man blinked for a moment when his weapon was wrenched from his grasp but didn't hesitate further and stepped back and held up his hand.

"FIRA." He cried.

Zell's eyes widened. "Oh crap." He muttered. Then he was blown into the wall by the explosion.

Irvine was engaged in a gun battle with the leader. Crouched behind a desk he braced exeter against his shoulder and unloaded a round at his enemy. The leader retaliated with a longer burst from his heavier weapon. Irvine cursed as one of the bullets blew a hole through the metal desk an inch away from his elbow.

The last swordsman charged Squall as soon as he came to his feet. Squall brought Lionheart around in a vicious arc. The Galbadian parried the strike but was totally unprepared when Squall kicked out with his foot. The boot caught him square in the shin and the man cursed violently as he hopped back out of reach.

Squall stood with Lionheart at the ready and waited. The soldier quickly recovered and thrust at Squall's stomach. Squall brought Lionheart down on the seeking blade and quickly twisted and pulled back up. Jerking the sword out of the startled soldiers' hands. This man was not as quick to react as Zell's opponent. He barely even squeaked as Squall severed his head from his neck.

Squall ducked down as the leader tried to fill him with bullets.

The other swordsman had recovered his sword and was moving to finish off Zell when Squall moved to interpose. The soldier gave a small smile and held his sword at the ready. His eyes widened in shock and he dropped to the floor as Irvine unloaded a pair of shells into his back. Squall ducked behind the same desk as Irvine and nodded approvingly at his tactic.

The Galbadian squad leader was not feeling near as cocky anymore. The situation had seemed well in hand when he had gotten the drop on the SEED's. Now it was all he could do just to keep them behind that desk. He was still trying to figure out what to do when he heard a soft clink behind him. He turned and his eyes widened as the grenade exploded pitching him over the desk.

Squall stood and offered a hand to Irvine. Who accepted it. Squall pulled him up and walked over to the groaning man. His armor had absorbed most of the blast but he was definitely out of the fight.

Irvine walked over to Zell and checked him out. The fighter was breathing but barely. He placed his hands on Zell's chest. "Curaga." He said softly.

Zell's breathing evened out and his wounds closed but he remained unconscious.

Squall stood next to the burned and bleeding squad leader, leaning lightly on Lionheart.

"So." He said. "Lets try this line of questioning again. What is the purpose of this base?"

"Go fuck yourself." The soldier growled, then spat at him.

Squall wiped his shirt and pressed his gunblade lightly against the man's bicep. "Are you sure that's the way you want to play?" He asked. "It would be so much easier for both of us if you would reconsider."

"I told you to go fuck yourself SEED!" The man spat back.

The soldier screamed as Squall leaned down on Lionheart. The blade bit deep, severing his muscle.

Irvine looked up at the leader's shrill scream. His face turned white when he saw what Squall was doing. Then he saw that Squall's face was still as impassive as a slab of granite. He quickly turned back to Zell who was beginning to come around.

"Still want to play this way?" Squall asked as he pulled Lionheart from the man's arm.

"What the hell man? Are you crazy or something?" The leader ranted at him. "You must be really screwed up in the head."

"Whatever." Squall said. "Do I need to continue or are you ready to talk?" Squall placed Lionheart in the middle of the man's wrist."

"Easy kid I'll talk I'll talk." The leader said.

"Good." Squall said simply. His lips twitched as he pressed on Lionheart again severing the Man's hand.

The Galbadian screamed even louder than before.

Irvine looked up and ran over. "Squall what the hell is the matter with you? He said he would talk?"

"I know." Squall said. "That was to make sure he wasn't planning on lying." Squall set his gunblade on the desk and laid his hand on the blade and closed his eyes. He focused his mind on the gunblade and whispered. "Fire." The blade began to glow and Squall picked it up. "Hold him." He commanded Irvine.

Irvine's face turned white and he knelt by the Galbadian and put his weight on his shoulders.

Squall bent over and touched the glowing gunblade to the man's bleeding wrist.

The Galbadian screamed louder than ever and tried to writhe away from the searing heat.

After he finished Squall stood and laid his gunblade on the table. He looked over at Irvine. "Take Zell outside and secure that corridor." Squall pointed at the door that the Galbadians had come through a few minutes ago.

Irvine nodded and helped a still dazed Zell to his feet. When he got to the door he stopped. "Squall." He said.

Squall looked up.

"Go easy man. He has had enough."

Squall's face softened for a moment and he nodded.

The Galbadian looked over as Irvine walked out the door with Zell, then looked up with terror in his eyes as Squall focused on him again.

Twenty Minutes later squall came out of the room with Lionheart over his shoulder and the Leader's assault rifle in his other hand.

Irvine looked up.

Squall tossed the gun to Irvine. "I figured you could use this." He said.

"Thanks." Irvine replied. "Squall what was that about? I've never seen you like that before." Irvine asked as he checked out the gun.

"We needed information Irvine. I was not going to proceed any further with this mission with out knowing what's waiting for us. It was ugly. But there was nothing else I could do and still be sure he was being straight with us." Squall's face softened as he spoke.

Irvine looked into Squall's eyes and nodded.

"Where is Zell?" Squall asked.

"Other end of the Corridor. Irvine replied. "I thought it might be best if he didn't know what was going on."

"You thought right." Squall replied. "Let's get him. You both need to hear this."

A minute later all three SEED's were standing at the end of the corridor.

"Squall took a look around and then began speaking. "It turns out our friend in the other room was Second in command for base security and defense so he had quite a bit to share with us. He didn't know everything but he did fill in a lot of gaps. This base is primarily being used as a genetic research and augmentation lab. They are experimenting on their own soldiers along with several varieties of monster. They are crossing DNA and adding cybernetics. Trying to make a better super soldier. They are still a ways off though. The blasts that Esthar saw is the way the Lab disposes of failed projects. They lead the creatures outside and detonate a large amount of high explosive."

"Did he say what was wrong with the creatures?" Zell asked.

"They are not exactly sure." Squall replied. "Most of them are Hybrids. They either injected the DNA of a monster into a human or vice versa. The problem is they did not expect extreme behavior changes. The human subjects became too vicious to control and the monster subjects either became cunning and vicious or too docile."

"So what is the plan?" Irvine asked.

"The mainframe computer is still our primary target. If we destroy their research then the Galbadian government might decide to scrap the entire project. Even if they dont they will have to start all over again. Although I have determined that if we cant get to the mainframe for some reason then we can backtrack here to get to the main generator. If we cut the power then the more aggressive creatures will break free and cause a distraction.

"But wont we risk running into the monsters as well?" Zell piped up.

"Yes but it is a low risk. The monsters are on the lower levels with the mainframe and the labratories. The generator is on this level. So we should be able to take out the generator in relative safety. Any questions?"

Both men shook their heads.

"Good." Lets go.

The SEED's set off down the corridor towards the elevator.

A/N Reviews are always appreciated.


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